Culloden exchange near Inverness is set to be upgraded to broadband after becoming the first in Scotland to reach its customer target for the high-speed internet service.

Culloden was allocated a trigger level of 200 customers as part of a scheme run by BT Wholesale to stimulate demand for ADSL broadband across the UK.

More than 100 Scottish exchanges have been set triggers of between 200 and 750 customers and local communities have been campaigning for their exchanges to top the demand league.

However, when the 200^th Culloden customer signed up with an internet service provider at the weekend, it became the first in Scotland to hit the magic mark.

Service providers are now being asked to validate the demand at Culloden so work can begin on upgrading the exchange for broadband. If firm demand is confirmed over the next six weeks, BT will begin installing ADSL at the exchange and, within three months, Culloden customers will have access to always-on internet services up to 10 times faster than a standard modem.

BT Scotland general manager Brendan Dick said: "This is a major milestone in BT Scotland’s campaign to create a broadband Scotland and it’s great to be able to hail a victory at Culloden!

"With access to ADSL, Culloden’s 230 businesses can gain a vital competitive edge in sales, marketing and customer service operations, and make significant savings in their operating costs.

"A new world will also open up for the 5000 residential customers served by the exchange. They’ll be able to enjoy life in the fast lane with always-on, near instant email, fast downloading of games, music, films and sporting clips and have the bonus of being able to make and receive phone calls while they’re surfing.

"The gauntlet has now been thrown down to customers served by the 100-plus exchanges in Scotland which also have targets to meet. I would urge customers to register with ISPs ASAP if, like Culloden, they want to join the ranks of the most switched-on communities in Scotland."

Stuart Robertson of Highlands and Islands Enterprise said: "Broadband has real business benefits for the Highlands and Islands. We are very pleased that the people of Culloden have used the pre-registration scheme to convince BT that there is real demand for ADSL and we would urge other communities across our area to register their interest too.

"We want to see cost effective broadband services available across the Highlands and Islands, which is why we have been so keen to support a number of broadband trials currently underway, and provide grants to enable companies to take up satellite broadband systems."

Leading the race for second place in Scotland is Kilsyth, which has reached 65% of its 200 customer target, followed by Newton Mearns (54% of 400), Ardrossan (48% of 400), Helensburgh (36% of 400) and Bathgate (35% of 400).

ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) revolutionises the internet at home, at work, in schools and colleges and in a host of recreational and leisure situations. It’s at the heart of BT Scotland’s plans for creating a broadband Scotland.

In the north of Scotland, ADSL is already on offer in Inverness and Elgin. Across Scotland, it’s available to 39.5% of Scottish households and 44% of businesses in areas where demand is highest.

People interested in broadband services can check on the bt.com/broadband website to see if their exchange has been enabled for ADSL, whether a trigger level has been set and to check the level of demand currently registered against that exchange.

Anybody wanting to sign up for ADSL broadband services should register through a service provider who will in turn feed numbers into a central BT Wholesale database.

Details of all ADSL service providers and a list of those taking part in the registration scheme are available at www.bt.com/broadband which has links to the service providers' websites.